Paravai Muniamma has been ailing for the last one year and was admitted into a city hospital for breathlessness and cardiac ailment five days back. The Chief Minister has promised a stipend of Rs 6,000 from the Dr MGR Trust, which will help meet her medical expenses.
Paravai Muniamma has acted in over 70 Tamil movies and 4 Malayalam films. A folk singer who hails from Paravai in Madurai, she shot into the limelight after her song ‘Madurai veeran’ in the movie ‘Dhool’, which starred Actor Vikram.
Help began to pour in for her after a weekly magazine reported on her health and financial condition. Following this, Chennai-based writer Latha Srinivasan started an online campaign on twitter and Facebook which garnered attention as well. Speaking to The Hindu here, Paravai Muniamma said that she was regularly giving cultural performances and acting in movies till about 11 months ago when her husband passed away. “My health began to deteriorate and I have not been able to work since then as I am not able to walk,” she said. Among her three sons, one of them is mentally disabled and under her care. Her eldest son is a farmer and the second son was a driver but is now unemployed. She also has three daughters. “The Chief Minister’s assistance is something I will always be thankful for,” Ms Muniamma said.
Her daughter P. Valli said that most of the family was dependent on her income from the movies and cultural shows.
“After my father died, she fell very sick and we barely had money to cover her medical expenses and have been struggling to make ends meet,” she said.
Film actors Dhanush, Vishal, Sarath Kumar and Sivakarthikeyan have also offered financial assistance.
Some of the members of the film fraternity who wished anonymity opined that the industry should set aside funds for artists and technicians so that it can be utilised during crisis. Schemes like pensions, retirement benefits should be encouraged.
G Shiva, President of Film Employees Federation of South India (FEFSI) says, “Each union has a different policy. We ensure that medical treatment of our employees is taken care of. We have a tie-up with MGR Medical where we get free treatment for any ailments,” he said.
